Another Country at Clerkenwell Design Week

Surprisingly I have not written about the fantastic Another Country before on ATELIER TALLY. How can this be? If you like veneers and laminates, look away now as I’m going to show you show solid wood furniture. *Gasp*

Another Country launched in 2010 to much acclaim in the industry. The brainchild of Paul De Zwart, founding publisher of Wallpaper* magazine who wanted to make furniture that would last and have a timeless appeal.

Another Country makes contemporary craft furniture calling on the familiar and unpretentious forms of British Country kitchen style, Shaker, traditional Scandinavian and Japanese woodwork. It’s the spirit and functionality of these honest forms of furniture that we endeavor to re-interpret for a modern customer.

“This first collection from Another Country is as clear and simple an interpretation of our intention as we could manage. The second mixes things up a bit.” Paul says when asked about the two collections that they have released.

The antidote to poorly made furniture, Another Country makes furniture from solid wood, FSC-certified no less, thankfully, creating objects and furniture that will last a lifetime and get passed down through generations. And these pieces will wear so well, as have products from the likes of Ercol in the past. Now we have a new player in this game and the world is all the better for it.

Mid-Century love-in with Hopper and Space

Mid-Century is, in that horrid term, very ‘on trend’ right now. The 1950s changed the landscape for design thanks to new ideas coming out of the US and Scandinavia and to a certain extent, the UK. New production techniques made it all that better as we started to see plastics arrive in multi-colours and shapes we only ever imagined.

Hopper and Space are taking these classics and breathing new life in to them. Upcycling if you will. Arriving at their site I was greeted with the dulcet tones of 1981′s Teena Marie who offered background music for my shopping along with many other vintage songs, giving me a glimpse in to the world of Hopper and Space’s Ben and Joe.

These two are not the serious side of design, and thankfully so as there is plenty of that already around. They are forcing us to realise that this is supposed to be fun and individual. Furniture is their number one passion – a mission to share their love of stylish well made pieces.

“Our furniture collection invites you to invest in functional objects of beauty for your space. Bright colours, stylish lines and sturdy timeless design is what we are all about. Our upholstered pieces offer a unique opportunity to snap up a unique piece that is designed to last; something to use, cherish and become part of your history.”

You can also find their pieces at folksy.com/shops/hopperandspace, and join their colourful world on the Hopper and Space Facebook page.

Do you mysqueeze?

When Roland Kreiter won the ‘Pure Creativity’ competition by mydeco.com in 2009 with his design for a juicer that could be manufactured using 3D rapid-protoyping, judge Philippe Starck immediately saw the design’s potential. Not only did Starck give Kreiter a prestigious internship working at the designer’s Paris studio, he also picked up the phone to Alberto Alessi and told him he’d found his next iconic juicer.

Alberto Alessi said, “This seemed to me like a worthy tribute to “Juicy Salif” (1990), the most controversial Citrus-squeezer of the twentieth century.”

To celebrate the launch of the mysqueeze citrus squeezer, designed by Roland Kreiter for Alessi, mydeco.com searched for filmmakers to create a short film showcasing the product that Kreiter created.

The four winners of the competition won the opportunity to make their film and have it shown on mydeco.com. From narrative films inspired by American Psycho to conceptual films focusing on the shape, the filmmakers challenge our perception of what mysqueeze is and made it a desirable object. Here is my favourite film…

Florinda chairs by DePadova

Monica Förster has created some fantastic contemporary products for companies such as Modus, Poltrona Frau, Cappellini and De Padova. Based in Stockholm her work has a strong sense of pure form mixed with a never-ending curiosity for new materials and technology.

The Florinda chair, designed in 2011, is a mixture of beech wood and plastic combined in a simple shape that was conceived to erase the boundaries between zones, and lends itself to a wide range of different interpretations: from the dining area to the home studio, it can also easily adapt to restaurants, cafes and public areas, due to its contemporary look and versatility.

millimeter/milligram

MMMG, that is, Millimeter Milligram from Seoul create products that draw out the small details and sensibility of our daily lives bringing that all together to create a niche brand to coo over. Well, I cooed over it.

Korean stationery designers MMMG have become increasingly popular in the global market with retail points in Japan and Australia as well as Colette in Paris. They stock a colourful range of postcards, notepads, calendars, wallets, key holders and mugs.

My friends at Crane.tv visited the MMMG head office in trendy Itaewon to chat with creative director Myoung Yu and designer Kyung Hwa Lee about their secret formula behind their success.

At her Majesty’s pleasure

I am a big supporter of the work by Fine Cell Work with their quirky and original creations, it is so wonderful to see this voluntary effort paying off for them.

At the London Design Festival, they took up residence (once again) at Tom Dixon’s The Dock to unveil a new design by Mr Dixon and handmade by prisoners. His ‘At her Majesty’s pleasure’ cushion is the latest to be added to the parade of exclusive handmade items.

Mairi Duthie, director of Fine Cell Work, said: “The charity was set up as a means of giving people a way of spending their time during periods of enforced idleness in their cells. The prisoners are taught to sew by volunteers. They get to this very high level of skill, and it means they have contact with the outside world.”

A respectable 75% of all their work is produced by men and 20 hours per week, on average, is spent by the stitchers doing embroidery in their cells. The highest earners stitch for as long as 40 hours! This is a cause well worth supporting.